MANILA, Philippines – Notwithstanding legal questions, former president Joseph Estrada will run in the 2010 elections to reclaim his old post, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile said.

While the Constitution bars presidents from any reelection, Enrile said Estrada was coming into the elections not as an incumbent, but a former president whose term was cut short by a military-backed uprising.

“Erap (Estrada’s nickname) shall run. That’s my estimate. Erap shall run,” Enrile told a news conference at the Senate.

Enrile said the legal questions could not prevent Estrada from presenting himself to the public as a presidential candidate.

Estrada, a popular former movie star before he joined politics, would give other presidential hopefuls in 2010 a run for their money, Enrile said.

“I’ve seen the reaction of the people. I’ve been long in politics. I know when the people are sincere in their adulation for a person or they were just hakot (paid crowds). Here, vendors, the young and old, businessmen wave at him and shout ‘Erap! Erap,’” the Senate President said.